First published
in News
by Matt Oliver, Reporter covering North Oxford, Jericho and Summertown. Call me on 01865 425498

THEIR life as a family changed forever when Vicky Lamb gave birth to sextuplets in May 2010.

Now Mrs Lamb and her husband Andrew, both 35, from Appleford, have learnt to cherish every moment.

Mrs Lamb said: “The kids all love each other and it is a bit like a mad sleepover at night at our house.”

The couple married in 2006 and conceived the sextuplets, each weighing less than two pounds at birth, after Mrs Lamb took the fertility drug Clomid – the same medication prescribed to help her have nine-year-old Grace.

Matthew, who suffered bleeding on the brain, died at just two weeks old and the smallest baby, Pippa, who weighed one pound five ounces, died at seven weeks.

Mrs Lamb said: “That pain will never go away and not a day goes by that I do not think about them.”

Living with Andrew, elder daughter Grace and Layla, Eric, Ellen and Rose, now all aged three, she said life can be hectic. And the disabilities that affect Rose and Layla prove a daily challenge as well.

Layla was born with a damaged oesophagus and Rose has cerebral palsy.

The family need to raise £3,500 to buy Rose a special tricycle so she can ride independently for the first time.

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Today they are holding a fundraiser in the Market Place, Abingdon, between 10am and 2pm, with entertainers, activities and a bouncy castle.

Mrs Lamb said: “The trike would mean Rose could do more physiotherapy every day and not even be aware because it is so fun. You have so many hopes and dreams for your children and it is hard when they are faced with a disability, because you think, ‘I gave birth to you and so I need to make it right’.

“You should enjoy the here and now and all the precious moments.”

Mrs Lamb is a full-time mother while her husband drives heavy goods vehicles for an agency.

But having previously worked at a nursery, Mrs Lamb said bringing up four children was not as hard as it could have been.

She said: “Feeding was sometimes difficult because they all want it at the same time and you cannot just clock off like a nurse can. But generally, when you have multiples, the children know they have to wait for some things.

“The nappies cost was probably the biggest thing. It was about 10 per child each day, so it was sometimes a bit crazy.”

The four children have been accepted at Dunmore Primary School, Abingdon, where they attend nursery.